Is the day on which we received the Torah a joyous one? The gentiles did not want to receive it. In a certain sense it is the day we accepted upon ourselves obligations. Of course, we have accepted the Torah, and we rejoice over having received it. But since it is a day that also contains the necessity of servitude to God, the date is not explicitly mentioned in the verses that deal with the festivals.

God gave the times for the festivals, which are the joy of Israel, as they merited receiving goodness. For example, the verse states with regard to Passover that Israel left the house of bondage, and with regard to Sukkot that “I had the children of Israel dwell in booths” (Leviticus 23:43)…. But on Shavuot, God gave us the Torah, which is a burden on Israel. Indeed, the nations of the world did not want to receive it. Even though we say: “The time of the giving of our Torah” (Shavuot prayer), that is, we ourselves accepted the Torah, saying: “We will perform and we will heed” (Exodus 24:7), nevertheless, God, who gave us the Torah, held the mountain over the children of Israel to force them to accept the Torah, because it is a burden upon them. How could the time of the giving of the Torah be written in the Torah when God gave it with a decree against man? (Maharal, Tiferet Yisrael 27)

A fixed date limits the event that is said to have taken place on that date. One should accept the Torah every day and become renewed by it. Therefore, the Torah does not specify a date on which the Torah was given.

God did not want to limit the giving of the Torah to a specific day because on every day of the year one should feel as though he has received the Torah from Mount Sinai that very day…. If so, the Torah is given every day to those who study it; therefore, it is not fitting to specify the day on which it was given. With regard to this, our Sages said (see Rashi, Deuteronomy 26:16) that the words of Torah should be for you as if they were brand new. (Rabbi Shlomo Efrayim Luntschitz, Keli Yakar, Leviticus 23:17)

The Day We Stood at Sinai

When the day we stood at Sinai comes to mind, I am overcome with shudders of trembling.

The north and east feel fear, the western sea crawls;

All fear You, Your glory, when it was revealed.

Mighty Lord is Your name, my king, when You began by stating “I am,”

All creatures fell silent, they could not say a word.

When they heard Your voice, they bowed cowered,

trembled and stirred, those above and below.

Living God, who can evaluate Your greatness?

You have no beginning, no end.

When my heart will see this, then deep inside of me

Fear will enter, trembling and panic.

He limits my plans, He investigates my thoughts;

my spirit and soul will acknowledge You, sela!

The sharpness and wit of the Gerer Rebbe, Rabbi Yitzĥak Meir Alter, author of Ĥidushei HaRim, was already evident when he was a child. The scholars of the city loved to discuss matters of Torah with him and enjoyed his insights. Once, one of the scholars asked him: In the passage that addresses the giving of the Torah, the verse states: “All the people were seeing the voices” (Exodus 20:15). Why did they need to see the voices? Even if they had only heard the words of God, wouldn’t these words have penetrated their hearts?

The boy answered immediately: If the Jewish people had not seen the voices, there would have been room to shrewdly claim that it does not say: “You shall not [lo] steal” (Exodus 20:13), but rather: “You shall steal for him [lo],” which in Hebrew sounds the same but is spelled differently. In other words, one could have asserted that it is permitted to steal for the sake of Heaven. Therefore, they saw the voices; everyone saw that it says: “You shall not steal,” so there is no room for any excuses or rationalizations.

Each year on Atzeret, it is like the day that we stood before Mount Sinai; we receive the Torah anew. (Rabbi David Frankel, Korban HaEda, Rosh HaShana 4)

Every year on this festival, each Jew receives everything that he is going to understand and reveal in Torah in the future. (Rabbi Yehuda Aryeh Leib Alter, Sefat Emet, 5635)

We must take the central purpose of Shavuot to heart and remember that it is the day on which we became the servants of God. We must wholeheartedly reaccept the yoke of Heaven upon ourselves and observe all the statutes of the Torah. (Rabbi Yaakov Tzvi Mecklenburg, HaKetav VehaKabbala, Deuteronomy 16:10)

Further reading: For more on the revelation at Mount Sinai, see A Concise Guide to the Sages, pp. 103ff.